June 29, 2011

Dog's Life

This post is in response to a one word at a time blog carnival by Peter Pollock entitled Pets. For me that could easily have been Dogs. I am an unashamed dog person. We had a cat once. (It wasn't just my first cat, it was my last cat). But we are dog people. The two in the picture are the current generation: the Shepard was put to sleep last November at nearly 13; the Shepard/Retriever/Who knows what else mix is still with us at 15. Hard of hearing, shaky on her feet, a gimpy leg and possibly the onset of doggie dementia, but still with us. With her breeds and size, a human equivalent age that one normally only sees in the Book of Genesis anymore, but still with us.

The thing about dogs is they exhibit many of the qualities one would love to see in people; unconditional love, unswerving loyalty, and unabashed happiness when they enter your presence. The way we should be in the presence of the Lord, but are most often not.

I think that is why we grow so attached to them: the qualities they exhibit we know we should as well, yet they do not call us to task for it nor do they rub it in our faces (they are more likely to roll around on their backs in the grass than do that).

Dogs would make pretty darn fine people, but we would probably make miserable dogs.